The Breakfast Club

I'm nearing the end of my second year in nursing, and it amazes me that I am still seeing new faces in my program. However, there are a select few students that I know well. Quite well. And how do I know them so well? It really wasn’t anything I did by choice. Let me explain…

First clinical rotation, first semester: Labor & Delivery. I started this rotation with lots of energy and enthusiasm. To a bunch of fresh nursing students, it was the coveted placement. I was even lucky enough to experience a birth my first shift! But what I didn’t know is that it would be the only baby I would assist with for the rest of the rotation. Aside from a couple diagnostic tests and ultrasounds I was able to sit in on, I sat in the same room, in the same chair, for 7 more shifts. So did the rest of my 6 cohorts. Some of them seemed to be favored more than others (and than me) experiencing more babies and all the excitement involved. But really it was a matter of luck. Labor & Delivery is an unpredictable floor. It’s only a guessing game as to how many moms will come through those doors on any given day and how long their labor will last. But in my opinion, my luck was only short-lived.

So back to sitting in my chair for the bulk of an 8 hour shift... I was keen enough to bring my homework along, and I did get a good deal accomplished. But I can only focus for so long, especially with people coming in and out of the room for various reasons.

If you can imagine the Breakfast Club, that is truly what we were. (and yes, I did age myself referencing that with the other, somewhat younger students…) Labor & Delivery wasn’t necessarily detention, nor did we have an antagonistic principal, but we were stuck in a room for what felt like an eternity and we had to keep out the way of a few irritable nurses. This time there was 7 of us, some of us strangers, but we got to know each other on a level that I won’t be able to duplicate with my other classmates.

One of my classmates that I was fortunate enough to get to know was Erica Sommerfeld. I’m not in any of her classes this semester, so I made a priority of it to catch up with her. It took a couple attempts, but we were able to coordinate a quick lunch date after one of my clinical shifts. Walking out of the hospital at the end of the day, I’ll admit that I was super tired and was questioning my choice to get together. But after having a short visit, it was really only an hour, I was so glad to have caught up with a friend. It was worth the sacrificed nap.

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